


Day to Day (And Once Again)

by ALOrated



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Fluff, Jamilton Month 2020, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:15:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25472257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALOrated/pseuds/ALOrated
Summary: A collection of Jamilton one-shots, all generally light-hearted. Most are set in a vaguely-interconnected modern-AU, with a single historical drabble to tie it off.
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson
Comments: 34
Kudos: 65





	1. Toy

Alexander just about kicked the door in, fumbling as he was to get the key in the slot and turn the latch with groceries piled in both arms. He was doubly frustrated when he finally got the door open only to find Thomas sitting at the kitchen table, approximately seven feet away from the door. “Come on, man, you couldn’t’ve gotten the door when you heard me pounding at it?” he huffed, pausing as he saw the man in question look up with a bewildered expression on his face. 

“I didn’t notice, sorry.” With how thin the walls are, Alexander wasn’t sure he fully believed that -- but on the other hand, he had a tendency to end up dead to the world when engrossed in his work, too, so he could only complain so much. Rolling his eyes, he just walked over to the kitchen counter and dumped the groceries on it, internally praying he hadn’t cracked any eggs. “Did you want me to start working on dinner, or did you just want to grab whatever, or…?”

“What? Oh, I- I’ll start somethin’ up, just give me a minute.” Thomas seemed distracted -- and Alexander wandered over to stand behind him, pressing his hands lightly against his boyfriend’s shoulders. On the floor beside the table was a cardboard box (not a small one, either; it was at least large enough to fit a microwave), opened on the top. Inside looked to be random junk, the sort of thing one would pick up if they started grabbing things off the shelves from the kid’s section in Goodwill.

“What’s all this stuff?” Alexander mumbled, craning his neck to get a better look at the contents. “Wait, actually, answer this first: where did you even get all that?”

“Oh, uh- in the mail. Mom was cleaning out our childhood shit in the attic and I guess figured that that was just- y’know, vital for me to have.” Alexander knew Thomas didn’t have the best relationship with his mother after his dad’s death, but even if they were closer, it’d be a long drive to make just to pick up some things he may not have even wanted. “Most of my stuff got ditched after I moved out for college, or was handed down to younger family. Guess this is all of mine that’s survived.”

Alexander saw Thomas was holding a little picture frame. In it was a polaroid photo of him and his father, and tucked to the side of the photo were two tickets to a theme park. Kings Dominion, to be precise. Thomas had mentioned the place before, but they had never gone as a couple. Roller coasters just made them both sick. “Oh...” After not getting anything out of Thomas in response, Alexander pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the table and took a seat. He’d only just gotten back from the store; the groceries would be fine for another couple of minutes on the counter. “Find anything good in there?”

Thomas finally drew his attention away from the photo, setting the frame face-down on the table and rubbing at the back of his neck. “Eh. Yearbooks. Found a VHS tape in there, which we don’t even own a player for, so who knows what’s on it. Some trading cards. Basically random junk in my possession from ages 4 to 17 that no one else in my family wanted, crammed into the first box my mom found before slapping it in the mail.” He sighed, head falling into the palm of his hand. “If anything I’m surprised this is all, but I guess I did kinda pack all the shit I actually wanted when I moved out, so...” he shrugged. “I’ll...take care of dumping all this stuff later. What do you wanna do for dinner?”

Alexander looked down at the photo frame still on the table. “It’s okay if you want to keep some of it, you know. We have room.” He turned his gaze back to the box on the floor. “‘Sides. I’d kill to have a few of my childhood possessions back. As far as I know, they were all pawned off or trashed. I get it if you don’t care about random yearbooks or whatever, but if you are kinda hesitant, we can hang on to it if you want.” Twelve books, a wooden carving that sat on his nightstand, and a little photo album were just about all Alexander had from before age 17; if anyone understood wanting to reminisce over childhood memories, it’d be him. But still, Thomas only shrugged, expression distant, a sad frown creeping over his face. Wanting to comfort him, Alexander reached out to take his hand, before noting something soft and brown sticking out under a few of the aforementioned yearbooks. Stooping over to shuffle through the box, he pulled out a worn and faded...stuffed animal. A little deer, to be exact. “Aw, what’s this?”

Alexander wasn’t typically the type to audibly fawn (heh) over cute things, but he did hope to cheer Thomas up a tad and get his mind off of things. But to his credit, it worked, at least a bit -- Thomas blinked, gaze jumping between Alexander and the toy before sheepishly shrugging, “What? Lots of kids have that one stuffed animal they abuse as toddlers.” After a moment of clearly questioning whether he wanted to reveal anything more to Alexander, he added, “May very well have been some shitty knock-off Bambi plush...but it was my little white-tailed deer. Named- ah, named…‘Dear.’ As in,” he forced a wink and a grin, “My darling dear Alexander.” Thomas took the stuffed animal from Alexander’s hands, gripping it in his own. “Looks like she didn’t fare too well after twenty years in an attic. Although I’m sure most of the real damage was caused by me running amuck with her.” He traced one thumb over the messy fur.

Alexander stood up once more, moving to crouch down beside Thomas, planting a light kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “I wasn’t teasing you.”

Thomas turned his head enough to intercept Alexander’s second kiss, turning it into a light peck to the lips. When Alexander pulled away, Thomas sighed, “It’s just weird to see stuff from when I was a kid. Like a completely different time...brings back a lot of memories, is all. But I can’t complain; plenty of said memories were good ones, y’know? Good things I haven’t given much thought to in a long time, like toys and amusement parks, and- and...” Before Alexander could say anything to that, Thomas stood up and pulled Alexander forward into a hug, practically pinning Alexander against him.

And in return, Alexander sighed, shutting his eyes and resting his chin on Thomas’ shoulder, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. “You alright?” he mumbled.

After a long pause, Thomas squeezed him tight for a moment before pulling away and answering, “Yeah.” He then moved to run his fingers through Alexander’s hair, stopped at the tight band keeping it pulled back, then instead trailed his fingers over the other man’s jaw, pausing at his lips. “C’mon, let’s get the groceries put away; they’re taking up the countertop and I need space to cook.”

Alexander snorted. “Course.”

Thomas planted one last kiss to his forehead before heading stepping into the kitchen to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which against all odds, I don't make this prompt about sex.
> 
> I honestly don't have that much left over from early childhood. Maybe in storage somewhere, but I couldn't say off the top of my head what is in storage or where it is, just that there's a possibility something might be somewhere.
> 
> Anywho. There are apparently stuffed animal spa/hospital services where you can get them cleaned and patched up and stuff. It's nice that people can get those sorts of things restored if they want to!


	2. Cooking

“I want to try cooking something for you,” Thomas mumbled. Alexander craned his neck, trying (and failing) to shift enough to properly look back at the other man -- but pressed in a sort of half-spooning, half-lying-on-top-of position on the couch, such efforts were futile. Still, the least he could do was reach for the remote and mute the TV. Neither of them had been watching it; Alexander had been screwing around on his phone, and Thomas had been reading a book. It was just background noise, and he’d rather mute that to hear what his boyfriend had to say.

“What do you mean?” He and Thomas had only been dating for a few months at that point, but Thomas had hosted him a handful of times before for dinner at his place -- whether it be something he had actually cooked himself, or be it a pizza they’d ordered for delivery. And it was nice, but Alexander cared more about the fact they were spending time together in the first place to form any real opinions on the food. (While he wasn’t about to shit on good food, he wasn’t picky, was all he was saying.) “I’ve had you over for dinner before, and you’ve had me over at your place, too. Plus you cook me some damn good eggs whenever I sleep over.” He added on a wink to accompany that last bit; it had been a mutual agreement that whoever topped had to cook breakfast for both of them the following morning, and while they switched often enough, Alexander had made jokes before that he only took it up the ass for the free meal promised afterwards. All in good fun, of course.

“Well...” Thomas trailed off, wrestling for the right words to explain himself, finally settling on, “I’ve cooked for us before, yes, and neither of us are picky eaters, so we have a good variety open. But...I want to make something  _ for _ you. Something that’s not just a dish we both like, but something that’s your  _ favorite _ . I know we grew up eating basically completely different sorts of foods, and I...y’know. Wanted to try making something less that I’m familiar with, and more something you’d like.”

At that, Alexander finally forced himself to roll over and face his boyfriend. Thomas’ squeak of alarm morphed into something vaguely like “ _ You’re going to fall off the couch if you do that! _ ”, and begrudgingly, Alexander adjusted his position into something a touch more stable before explaining, “It’s sweet that you want to do this for me. Like- fuck, I’ve never had someone offer anything like that before. I- I guess- I just...” he sat up, running his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to fix whatever rat’s nest had formed while he was laying down. “America is fun  _ because _ I get to try so many new sorts of foods. It’s like every place you go has something unique. Fuck, I’m not even a foodie like I know for a fact you are, but it’s still fun to know I can travel to another region and get something completely different. I was never able to travel before I moved here and got a nicer job, so to have this opportunity in the first place...”

Thomas looked like he was still trying to pick out whether Alexander was being serious, or if he was just letting Thomas down gently. Alexander tried to reassure him with, “It’s really kind that you’re offering to cook something for me. And maybe at some point in the future, I can  _ share _ recipes I know from where I was born with you, a chance for me to show you what I know, rather than it feeling like you have to take care of me.” He trailed one hand along Thomas’ jawline. “But I think it’d be more fun for us to experiment together. I know we haven’t been dating for that long, so this could be a bonding activity of sorts, you know? List out all our favorite foods and come up with a meal together. I know I’m not as much of a master chef as you are, but I can still cook for myself, and I’d like to put those skills to good use.” He didn’t know a less pathetic way to explain that he couldn’t handle receiving such sweet gifts with the only purpose behind them in the first place being “because I want to give something to you.” Especially when it was something he knew he could contribute to. It was one thing to make a simple little breakfast as a treat, and another entirely to…

To hear something as genuine as Thomas had proposed. It was a lot to take in, was all. And Alexander needed time to ease into it.

Thomas seemed to mull over things before apparently deciding that Alexander’s alternative was acceptable, as he sat up as well in order to sneak in a kiss before saying, “That makes sense.” He shifted, moving from sitting behind Alexander to sitting beside him in order to wrap one arm around Alexander’s shoulders and use the other to take him by the hand. “Alright, so now we need to figure out what we want to make.”

Alexander leaned into his touch. “Mangoes are my favorite fruit.”

“Mangos...okay, that’s a good starting point,” Thomas mused. “Smoothies are good. I’ve made peach cobbler before; I bet you can do the same with mango. Or mango ice cream? A dessert, certainly.” Alexander nodded in agreement, and Thomas continued. “Main course?”

“You can’t go wrong with pasta,” Alexander supplied. What he meant by that was that pasta was easy to cook. “Favorite veggie?” 

Thomas snorted. “Tomatoes. You knew this already.”

“I don’t like tomatoes. They taste bad.”

“That’s because the shit you get in the supermarket doesn’t have any flavor,” Thomas lectured. “Choice of alcohol? I’m more of a fruity wine person, myself.”

“If I see a Russian getting drunk off of it, it’s good enough for me,” Alexander joked back. He wasn’t a lightweight by any means, but as Thomas whimpered over hangovers the morning after only a few drinks, it had become something of a gag in their relationship that Alexander had the tolerance of an alcoholic.

“Alright, well while you burn your taste buds off-”

“You’re the one with the fucking insane spice tolerance!” Alexander shot back. “Like, I’d consider myself a moderately solid individual, whether physically or in terms of eating questionable food, and-”

Thomas scoffed, and Alexander squealed when the man half-scooped half-tackled him back into the sofa, laughing into the crook of his neck. “And yet you’re still so easy to manhandle.”

Alexander’s response was to wrestle the guy back down into the pillows of the couch, smugly adding “Really ate those words right then, eh?” as Thomas admitted defeat, limply sinking into the couch cushions. Alexander claimed his victory by planting a kiss to the nape of Thomas’ neck before laughing, “Okay, but I am actually hungry now, and obviously your super special dinner’s gonna take a little more planning. Wanna have calzones for dinner tonight? I think I have some leftover ricotta in the fridge from making lasagna last week.”

“Sounds good,” Thomas mumbled in reply, smiling, pushing himself up, and trailing after his boyfriend as they headed into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If they don't have sex/only do oral or handjobs or whatever (which is admittedly the majority of the time), then breakfast usually amounts to either not eating breakfast or just making whatever, either together or individually. Alexander rarely eats breakfast anyways, so it works out.
> 
> Tomatoes are delicious. Slice those bad boys up with a little salt and pepper, and it's excellency on a place.
> 
> For all of the questionable recipes I share characters making in these fics (an incredibly unhealthy -- not outstanding but decent -- casserole comes to mind), a lot of the little recipes mentioned as side comments are real things I make. I really do love to cook, haha.


	3. Desert Island

Alexander huffed and doubled over in his kayak, arms burning. He was a decently muscular guy, sure, but he wasn’t exactly used to paddling, and was really starting to tire out.

Thomas was the outdoorsman of their relationship; he was the one who was always going out for walks, or hikes, or talking about renting a house in the country where they had some woodland and could have fire pits in the evenings. Alexander admitted that that sounded nice, but was a big move, so instead, their adventures into the “wilds” of the East Coast were more of the tame variety. Hiking, exploring national parks, going to the beach. And lately, Thomas had convinced Alexander that they should rent kayaks.

His shoulders were beginning to really regret that, but to Alexander’s relief, Thomas called over his shoulder, “This looks like a good place to stop for lunch, if you’re hungry!”

Alexander huffed out a “ _ Yes _ ,” to which Thomas laughed and ran his kayak ashore, hopping out and helping pull Alex’s kayak up onto the sandbar next, putting out an arm for his boyfriend to steady himself on as he climbed onto the shore. Finally back on stable ground, Alexander took a half dozen steps away from the water and collapsed onto a large, smooth-worn rock jutting from the sand. They had specifically picked that day to kayak as it wasn’t too hot, but even then, the stone seeped heat into his back. Not greatly appreciated as Alexander was still sweating, but at least he was laying down.

“Come on Alex, now you’re just being overdramatic,” Thomas snorted, pulling the dry bag out of his kayak. Since they were only kayaking a few miles down the river (Alexander had first parked his car where they’d be pulling out of the water, then Thomas had driven them both to where they’d be putting in), they didn’t have much gear besides their water bottles, so in the end, they’d only bothered grabbing one dry bag. Even then, they only really had sunscreen, bugspray, their phones, a first aid kit (for the blisters Alexander was rapidly acquiring on his thumbs from the kayak paddle), and their lunches.

Thomas pulled out two ziplock bags of sandwiches (PB&J for Thomas; PB&honey/banana for Alexander), tucking them under one arm before chucking a bag of Doritos in Alexander’s direction. In response, Alexander managed a weak groan of acknowledgement, which quickly turned into a “ _ gah- _ fuck you!” when Thomas followed up the chips with sending Alex’s water bottle flying. Sitting up, Alexander thanked his lucky stars his water bottle was metal and not glass before setting it upright in the sand and sitting up, still perched on his rock. “Thanks for the attempted murder!”

“Oh please, now you’re just whining-  _ oh shit! _ ” Thomas’ teasing quickly turned to a pained hiss as he stumbled on one foot and shook the other. The man was wearing boots, but it looked like something had caught on to his sock.

Alexander rolled his eyes and meandered over. “Just stay still; I’ll get it.” When Thomas complied, he bent over, mentally running through options of what it could be. Holly leaves? A cactus? A particularly sharp twig? In the end, it was just some spine-covered briars, and he untangled the vine from Thomas’ leg. Didn’t look like the guy was bleeding from his sock, so Alexander decided Thomas  _ probably _ wouldn’t die, and rose back to his feet with one eyebrow raised as he held up the offending briar vine. “And  _ I’m _ the one whining?” he laughed, to which Thomas scoffed (but begrudgingly thanked him) and walked over to sit down on the other side of the rock that Alexander had previously claimed.

When Alexander sat down beside him, Thomas had gotten his sandwich unwrapped, but hadn’t begun eating yet. As Alexander fumbled for his own food, Thomas finally said, “Hey, thanks for coming out here with me.”

“Course, Thomas,” Alexander replied, looking at him curiously. “I know it looks like I’m about to die from overexertion, but...y’know, this is still fun.” He tipped his head back, looking at the trees above him. The river wasn’t that wide, and the tips of the branches on either side even touched at the narrowest points. “Between the office and home, it sometimes feels like I spend all my time indoors. It’s nice to get out sometimes.”

A very welcome breeze picked up, freeing a few strands of hair that had ended up stuck to his forehead. Birds chirped in the background. The tree branches swayed overhead, casting beautiful, sparkling patterns across the water.

And he and Thomas sat alone on their little, sand-covered island in the center of the river, watching leaves drift by with the current and fish swim near the rocks. A little desert island, just for the two of them.

“It’s a beautiful day.” Thomas took a bite of his sandwich.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is,” Alexander agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once, I was hanging out on the bank of a random island in the middle of a river wearing flipflops and thought "huh, I wonder what's up on this little plateau area that's above the tide?" Turns out it was a field of cacti.
> 
> Anyways. I'm sure that pure survivalism Jamilton would be interesting to write (I am writing a survival lams/jeffmads story currently, but the characters can still take shelter in abandoned cabins and the likes -- it isn't a true "wilderness survival" story), but I couldn't help but think of this fun little kayak trip instead.


	4. Bugs

Alexander wasn’t much for traveling, although he didn’t hate it, either. He wasn’t the sort to sit around daydreaming of exotic vacations or the likes, and while the  _ idea _ of going somewhere new was interesting, he didn’t seek it out. That said, occasionally, he’d poke through the dumb brocures he got in the mail or pause to look at the posters tacked up on the board by the restrooms in the supermarket, if only to see what was out there. Most of the time, though, any interesting suggestions he found were from local message boards or news sites: the ones that pointed out fun places to see in the area, the ones that listed out all the things they could do. Little trips that would only require a car ride, rather than figuring out the plane ride and hotel rooms.

He and Thomas had different interests to some extent -- they both loved reading, theater, language, and history, and Alexander had a passing interest in science, although Thomas heard “science” and raised it to a far higher degree. And while Alexander was more of a social man, Thomas prefered a night in -- but on the flip side, Thomas was always wanting to go to museums and hikes and parks, and with enough time to get into the idea, Alexander could respect that. And as such, whenever he  _ did _ find something interesting, he at least made sure to float the idea to Thomas.

Usually, that came out while laying in bed at an ungodly hour, Thomas still awake for whatever reason, and Alexander awake simply because his mind was racing too much to still. Case in point: now, with Alexander slipping an arm around Thomas’ waist and mumbling, “I found out about somethin’ real cool today.”

Thomas rolled over to face Alexander, hair sticking to his face. “Mn?”

After a short pause for Alexander to determine that Thomas really was awake, and not just reacting to the noise of Alexander speaking, he elaborated, “You know those nature camps for kids? And then, for adults going into environmentalism and geology and stuff, the ‘professional’ field camps? Well, I found something kinda in the middle.”

Thomas was blinking to keep his eyes open, finally giving in and rubbing at them (coupled with an obnoxiously loud yawn). Despite his theatrics, though, the message must’ve gotten through, because he seemed interested, and mumbled in reply, “Yeah?”

“I think it’d be a lot of fun. Like, it’s exactly the sort of thing you’re into, and it’s on a Saturday. Just drive out, have fun, and then we’ll be back before midnight. They’ll have live animals -- don’t tell me you don’t want to hold a fucking  _ owl _ or hawk or some shit on your arm. And do demonstrations like eating bugs, and cooking over a campfire, and making stone tools and all that. You know I’m not much of a survivalist kind of guy; I don’t go out and start...I don’t know, foraging for blackberries on the side of the road. But it’d be neat to see.” Alexander was more of a “nice tent at an established camp site with a fancy cot and a building with indoor plumbing and showers only a short walk away” sort of person if he  _ was _ forced to spend a night out in the woods, but he could handle day trips; he’d gone kayaking with Thomas before.

“Alex, you and I both know you wouldn’t eat a bug,” Thomas pointed out, scooting closer under the covers to rest his head on Alexander’s chest. “But that does sound like a lot of fun otherwise. If you send me their website or whatever for it I’ll check it out and see if we can sign up.”

Thomas let out a little sigh as Alexander lightly drew his fingers through the other’s hair. Taking the opportunity to defend his honor, Alexander quickly replied, “I’ll send you it tomorrow, yeah,” before switching gears to huff, “That said, you’re a pickier eater than I am. If I refused to eat an insect, no way  _ you’d _ eat one.”

“I’ve actually eaten cicadas before,” Thomas admitted, and Alexander let out a good-natured squawk of faux disgust, pushing his boyfriend off of him. Thomas just scoffed. “Plus, people say lobsters are the insects of the sea. Cicadas are basically little shrimp.”

“As a connoisseur of seafood, I’ll have to politely disagree,” Alexander mumbled in reply, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and running one hand down his face. “I’m gonna get a drink of water. I’ll be right back.”

“Alright, love.”

Throwing one hand out in front of him to keep from tripping into the nightstand, Alexander stumbled out into the kitchen and flicked on the light.

And there, in the very center of the kitchen floor, was a  _ hideous _ bug. It looked like some sort of abomination hellspawn of a spider and a centipede, and had frozen when he turned on the light.

It was a fucking  _ house centipede _ .

Letting out a slow breath of air, he lolled his head back for a moment before calling into the backroom, “Hey, Thomas. C’mere.”

“Coming...” came his boyfriend’s groan. A few heavy footsteps later, and Thomas staggered out of their bedroom. “What is it?”

Alexander pointed to the centipede. “I found a snack for you.”

Thomas gave him an impressively dead-eyed stare before turning around and walking back into their bedroom. By the time Alexander turned back to the kitchen, the centipede had scurried off, hopefully to find its way back outside. After getting his drink of water, Alexander clicked the light back off and walked back into their bedroom.

And upon climbing back under the covers and moving to spoon Thomas, wrapping one arm around his waist, he got a mumbled, “You done making fun of me?”

Alexander snorted, nuzzling into his boyfriend. “Mhm.”

Thomas let out a little sound of contentment, pulling Alexander’s hand up to his lips to plant a light kiss to the other’s knuckles. “Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4-H but for adults with M-F office jobs! With a dash of teasing Thomas for no good reason on the side.
> 
> The "wilderness event" in question is based on a real thing. I didn't attend, but know some people who did, and apparently during the "consuming insects" segment, only one person out of the group actually ate their bugs, haha. Nothing wrong with it, but not everyone cares for them, although they can be prepared very well.
> 
> (I, personally, am not a fan.)


	5. Dancing

“What do you want to eat tonight?” Thomas hummed, walking into the kitchen and opening a cabinet nearest to the stove to look at what they had in stock.

Alexander was sitting at the dining table a few feet away, typing at his laptop. The best he could manage up in response to Thomas was a weak wave in his general direction. “Anything’s fine. We could just do some of those microwave noodle things.” He heard the shuffling of plastic as Thomas dug through the cabinet.

“Okay, so our options are...Instant Thai, elbow mac ‘n cheese, and this broccoli and white sauce stuff.” Neither man was too picky with food, so on “lazy nights,” they usually just resorted to simple pasta, like spaghetti, and as such, had a selection in the cabinets: regular box pasta like spaghetti and pasta salad, and a variety of instant pasta they had picked up at the store. Just something easy to make, and they could always try different noodles and sauces to mix it up without it taking more than half an hour to cook.

“Sure, let’s try the last one,” Alexander replied, still more focused on his work than Thomas’ extreme deliberation over pasta. He saw Thomas nod in his peripheral vision and get to work measuring out water into a microwave cooking bowl, setting everything into the microwave and punching in the time a minute later.

Figuring it’d be best to pack his stuff up before they went to eat, Alexander shut down his laptop and wrapped up the power cord, going back into their bedroom to drop it off. It wasn’t until he returned to the kitchen, sans distraction of his laptop, that he truly saw the scene unfolding before him: Thomas humming and spinning on his feet while waiting for their food to cook. “What’re you doing?” Alexander rolled his eyes.

“Mm, I’m dancin’,” came Thomas’ reply. “You never do a little jig while waiting for the microwave? What, do you just sit in the dark and stare at your food for five minutes?”

Alexander flushed, knowing full well that was exactly what he did. “No!”

“Then c’mere and join in!” Thomas joked, taking Alexander by his hands and twirling him around. “Then, you just gotta add a little music to it. Like... _ pasta...makin’ pasta in the microwave...it’s just the pasta that I crave... _ ”

Alexander laughed as Thomas pulled him around the kitchen. “ _ Oh, wow _ , those’re some nice rhymes. Have you ever thought about becoming a rapper? Or a musician in general?”

“Pft.” Thomas dipped down to kiss Alexander on the cheek. “You already know I can play the violin. I’m more interested in hearing what you’d sing about. You’ve got a lovely voice.”

“Wouldn’t want to waste my talents on a song about pasta,” Alexander shot back with a wink. Thomas just snorted, and resumed his ballad about the microwave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short and sweet update today!
> 
> Dancing and adding in a little song while cooking makes everything better, even if you're only waving your arms and chanting "pasta" the entire time.


	6. Gardening

Looking at their work contracts and commute times and budgets, it only made sense to rent in one of the little suburbs outside of the city. Hell, some of the places they looked at were even  _ cheaper _ than the stupidly-expensive apartments in the heart of the city where they’d been living previously. So, really, it would only be a positive to move.

But where Alexander admitted that it would be nice to have a garage and driveway to park in, and a space to themselves that didn’t share a wall with the neighbors, Thomas was  _ far _ more ecstatic about having a yard to themselves, even if it wasn’t very large. More specifically, that the backyard had planter boxes and a few short trees and a privacy fence, and, in his own words: “Our lease is a year long, which means that there is  _ no _ reason I can’t put plants in those.” Considering it was a rental, they couldn’t go crazy with changing up the backyard, but getting the (admittedly poorly maintained) bushes trimmed up and getting some more greenery in the garden space would do wonders.

“Plus,” he had joked, “I can finally get an outdoor grill to cook on. Maybe then I can finally bribe you into loving me with good food?”

Alexander had scoffed and Thomas had walked out of the room just about laughing his ass off.

A few weeks of settling into their new rental, and Thomas was quick to proclaim how nice the place was. Everything felt a little less cramped, a little more  _ theirs _ when they were in a house of their own instead of an apartment. The inside was only a bit bigger than their last apartment, technically -- they only needed a one bedroom place, after all, so a smaller house would do -- but having a private space in the backyard, even if it wasn’t very large, was wonderful. Thus far, Thomas still hadn’t had a chance to get the grill, but he  _ had _ gotten to work right away planting flowers, and Alexander had raked and generally tidied up the place.

It wasn’t much, but it was the first time since moving in together that they had had a private garden at  _ all! _ Plus, there was a little picnic table set up right outside the backdoor, and a bird feeder that Thomas had filled with birdseed to watch the cardinals and bluebirds flit by outside.

The idea came to Thomas when his phone buzzed just as he was about to start figuring out dinner. A text from Alexander, saying: “Hey, a meeting ran long and I have to finish some stuff up before I head home. I’ll be about an hour late; you can eat without me if you want!” Thomas and Alexander’ work schedules mostly overlapped, but on days like this where one of them had to stay later for whatever reason, the person who got off first would typically make dinner -- Alexander was only supposed to be half an hour late or so, anyways, just a meeting he had to attend at an odd hour due to time zone differences.

Thomas texted back an “okay” before letting out a breath and collapsing onto one of the chairs surrounding their dining room table. This wasn’t the first time this week their schedules hadn’t lined up. Actually, it was the third day in a row. Running his fingers through his hair, he let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat. It was Friday, so at least they’d have the weekend together, but the slew of meetings and busywork had been the fault of a major project review that week for Alexander’ team at work. He knew Alexander was stressed, and while the man didn’t let it show over text…

He wanted to do something for his boyfriend, was all, and that didn’t have to mean organizing a huge event. But an hour…that wasn’t enough time to run to the store, back, and cook, but he still wanted to try making a little something special.

* * *

Alexander stifled a yawn as he stepped inside, locking the door behind him and dropping his keys in the little bowl on the counter. He didn’t bother announcing his arrival; as much as Thomas liked to explain that Alexander slammed the door whenever he came in, the guy surely must’ve noticed he was home.

The kitchen smelled faintly off, like something had been cooking, but as it was late spring and Thomas had opened the windows to let some air in, he couldn’t say what it was. Didn’t matter, anyways; he’d asked his boyfriend to eat without him, so he’d take leftovers if there were any, or otherwise cobble together something from the cabinets.

“Hi,” Thomas mumbled, wrapping his arms around Alexander’s waist. Or tried to- Alexander hadn’t heard his boyfriend walking over, and as a result, naturally nearly socked him in the face. “Woah! Alex, c’mon man, damn.”

“Oh  _ fuck _ , sorry,” Alexander groaned, thankful he had only succeeded in half-shoving Thomas back, rather than actually punching him. “I’m- just...tense, right now. You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Thomas reassured him, taking his hands and entwining their fingers together. “Go dump your satchel in the other room. I made dinner for us.”

“I told you to eat without me!”

Thomas blew him off by saying, “I wasn’t hungry earlier,” and despite Alexander's protests, he did eventually crumble to Thomas’ insistence, and did as he was told, returning to the living room with a raised eyebrow as he was met with a grinning Thomas and absolutely no further explanation than that.

Even more confusing was that rather than being led into the kitchen, he was dragged out into the backyard -- but that expression didn’t last long as he saw the setup Thomas had done.

“It’s a nice evening, and on a whim I had gotten those salmon fillets at the store earlier this week,” Thomas explained. “I know you’ve been stressed, so...I put a little something together.” True to his word, he’d clearly cleaned off the picnic table, wiping it down and setting out plates -- their food was set out too, but covered, of course. Finally, a little vase of fresh-cut flowers sat as the centerpiece -- Thomas often cut a few flowers from the bushes to bring a little life indoors, but in this context, it felt more like his significant other had gone out of his way to present Alexander with a bouquet.

And as embarrassing as it was, Alexander cried when he saw what Thomas had done. His boyfriend had seen how stressed he was, and had gone out of his way to prepare something special, from the flowers to knowing how much Alexander liked fish to bothering to cook for both of them at all, rather than going ahead and eating.

“Wha- Alex, you okay?” Thomas seemed more worried than anything, as though he weren’t quite sure whether or not he had accidentally re-awoken some deep-seated trauma his boyfriend had been harboring.

Alexander just shook his head, sucking in a deep breath and choking out, “It just means a lot that you cared to do this. This- this’s been a shitty week, and...fuck, I didn’t expect you to go out of your way like this.”

Thomas once again wrapped his arms around Alexander, this time pulling the shorter man against his chest and holding him for a few long moments.

They stayed like that for what felt like ages. Thomas rubbed little circles between Alexander’s shoulder blades. A light breeze picked up, sweeping the little baby hairs that had fallen out of Alex’s ponytail out of his eyes. Crickets chirped in the background, and he could hear the distant sounds of cars and chatter and laughter. When Alexander shifted to look out over the lawn -- their tiny rental’s backyard -- he saw the trees and the grass and all the bushes and little garden plants Thomas would take care of to relax on the weekends...

Finally, Thomas pulled away from him to smile and say, “Well...food’s gonna start gettin’ cold; we’d better get dining. Ooh, we could even pop open some wine, really make this date night something to remember!”

Alexander laughed, wiping away his tears and squeezing Thomas’ hand one last time. “It’s already something to remember.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated late today since I've been busy cleaning and boxing things up!
> 
> After a long and stressful week, sometimes the best thing you can come home to is dinner on the table and someone who loves you waiting with open arms.
> 
> Technically they're not in a one-bedroom house, but used the extra space for non-bedroom things, and as such refer to it as only being one bedroom. The setup gives them both more space to themselves when they want it, and having designated rooms for certain things helps divide up their messes and make everything feel less cramped.


	7. Historical

Alexander threw his brimmed hat to the ground with a resounding  _ wack _ as he stepped inside, practically kicking the door shut behind him and snapping, “Blasted weather! Damn it all, I swear.” Thomas glanced up from his place lounging on a sofa off to the side of the room -- it was more of a daybed, really -- already half-undressed and huddled beneath a quilt, slippers daintily set on the floor at his feet. Gazing out the window past the younger man, his line of sight was soon hidden by a curtain of fog and thick, white snowflakes.

“Perhaps if we’re snowed-in, I can finally have good reason to expect you’d stay the night,” Thomas flatly answered, turning his attention back to his book. “Unless you only stopped by for some unforeseen business, of which I can assure you, I am not in the mood to take care of.” Alexander shot him a glare, to which Thomas continued, “And take off your frock. I have a fire going, and your coat looks to have already been soaked through by the snow.”

Alexander huffed in annoyance, but complied. A wet jacket did no good to keep anyone warm, and after a look from Thomas (raised eyebrow included), he meekly scooped his hat off the floor and dumped the whole affair on the coat rack by the door. Refusing to let the other man win their little exchange, he simply jut his chin out and spat, “Well, now I’m cold.”

“You looked half-frozen coming in, I’m not surprised,” Thomas scoffed, knowing full well the little game Alexander was playing -- and, dutifully, lifted up the edge of his blanket to offer the other man a seat beside him.

And as he always did, Alexander crossed the floor in an instant, kicked off his shoes beside Thomas’ slippers, and melted into Thomas’ arms.

The first time he’d done that, Thomas’ writing desk had been balanced across his knees. That had been a mess of ink and parchment, to put it lightly, and he had since learned that a book was a better choice of entertainment while waiting on his lover’s arrival. After all, he wanted to be receptive to Alexander’s touches, and they hardly ever got much time alone. This -- a weekend with nothing but heavy snow in sight, no meetings planned, no one to bother them where they were staying -- was an exception to be savored, as much as Thomas teased that Alexander never seemed to stay for long enough.

Alexander’s eyes fluttered shut as he rested against Thomas’ shoulder, and Thomas idly stroked his fingers through the other’s hair. “It’s nice to see you.”

“Mhm.” Alexander curled his arms tighter around Thomas’ waist. They sat like that for a few moments, and then the younger man added with a chuckle, “Besides, you promised me dinner and wine. I’d never turn down an offer to drink, nor a free meal.”

Thomas scoffed, jokingly shoving Alexander away (although his efforts were hardly effective, seeing as Alexander was comfortably resting against him and had zero intention of moving) and muttering, “I see now; you’re just using me for a meal and sex afterwards!”

Alexander’s cackling laughter drowned out Thomas’ indignations, and upon finally quieting down, Alexander softly added, “If I were using you for anything, it’d be as a warm body and to keep the fire stoked. It’s freezing out there.”

Thomas rested his chin on Alexander’s head, letting his eyes flutter shut a moment after. “Yes. Yes it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final of seven one-shots! A little historical time period drabble. Thanks to those of y'all who have read to the end, and I hope this has been enjoyable! :)

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason the month of June saw me being unable to write/post things, so while I did do a couple of the Jamilton month prompts, I was never able to get myself to post them. So, here we are! Seven short one-shots from Jamilton month, updated once a day for a week until they've all been posted.
> 
> I'll usually post updates on [this account](https://beeshavethrees.tumblr.com) which is a Hamilton-specific blog! I'm always happy to respond to asks and requests (which I get notifications for), but I don't often check my PMs on it, so if you need to message me, go to my main [here!](https://ariibees.tumblr.com)


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